A Chinese remake of hit 1990s sitcom Mad About You — known locally as Xin Hun Gong Yu (The Wedding Apartment) — is set to air across the world’s most populous nation in January, thanks to two new sales deals.
Huaso Film/TV Digital Production, the joint-venture production company of Sony Pictures Television (SPT), CCTV6’s HuaCheng Pictures and Croton Media have sold exclusive, first-run satellite TV rights to Shanghai Media Group, which will premiere the show on Dragon TV at the start of the new year.
Streaming giant Youku Tudou has secured rights to the series and will make episodes available to its user base shortly after the satellite TV premiere.
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Xin Hun Gong Yu stars real-life husband and wife TV actors Li Jiahang (in the Paul Reiser role) and Li Sheng (in Helen Hunt’s place). The remake was penned by in-demand Chinese comedy screenwriter Shu Huan, the scribe behind hit Chinese comedy movies Lost in Hong Kong (2015) and Lost in Thailand (2012), both of which grossed over $200 million at the local box office.
“With Xin Hun Gong Yu, we have combined SPT’s expertise in Hollywood storytelling with strong local writing talent to create a comedy that captures the spirit of the original series in a way that is authentically Chinese,” said Andrea Wong, SPT president of international production. “We are pleased to be working with both Dragon TV and Youku Tudou to bring this series to a broad Chinese audience.”
Huaso has produced local versions of other SPT formats in China, including Dr. Oz for Zhejiang Television, game show Raid the Cage for Jiangsu Television and competition series Dancing Nation for CCTV.
Mad About You is the latest comedy to be adapted in Asia by SPT, following Indian versions of Everybody Loves Raymond and I Dream of Jeannie.
